Título
Evolutionary variation in MADS-box dimerization affects floral development and protein stability
Autor
Abraham Juárez, María Jazmín
Schrager Lavelle, Amanda
Man, Jarrett
Whipple, Clinton
Handakumbura, Pubudu
Babbitt, Courtney
Bartlett, Madelaine
Resumen
"Shifting interactions between MADS-box transcription factors may have been critical in the emergence of the flower, and in floral diversification. However, how evolutionary variation in MADS-box interactions affects the development and evolution of floral form remains unknown. Interactions between B-class MADS-box proteins are variable across the grass family. Here, we test the functional consequences of this evolutionary variability using maize as an experimental system. We found that differential B-class dimerization was associated with subtle, quantitative differences in stamen shape. In contrast, differential dimerization resulted in large-scale changes to protein complex composition and downstream gene expression. Differential dimerization also affected B-class complex abundance, independent of RNA levels. Thus, differential dimerization may affect protein stability. This reveals an important consequence for evolutionary variability in MADS-box interactions, adding complexity to the evolution of developmental gene networks. Our results show that floral development is robust to molecular change, even coding change in a master regulator of development. This robustness may contribute to the evolvability of floral form."